Retention, Thermodynamics and Adsorption Profile of Th(IV) Ions onto 1‐(2‐Pyridylazo)‐2‐Naphthol (PAN) Loaded Polyurethane Foam from Acetate Media and its Separation from Rare Earths

Abstract

The sorption behavior of 2.7×10−5 M solution of Th(IV) ions on 1‐(2‐pyridylazo)‐2‐naphthol (PAN) loaded polyurethane foam (PUF) has been investigated. The quantitative sorption was occurred from pH 6 to 9 from acetate buffer solutions. The sorption conditions were optimized with respect to pH, shaking time, and weight of sorbent. The sorption data followed the Freundlich, Langmuir, and Dubinin‐Radushkevich (D‐R) isotherms very successfully at low metal ions concentration. The Freundlich isotherm constant (1/n) is estimated to be 0.22±0.01, and reflects the surface heterogeneity of the sorbent. The Langmuir isotherm gives the maximum monolayer coverage is to be 8.61×10−6 mol g−1. The sorption free energy of the D‐R isotherm was 17.85±0.33 kJ mol−1, suggesting chemisorption involving chemical bonding was responsible for the adsorption process. The numerical values of thermodynamic parameters such as enthalpy (ΔH), entropy (ΔS), and Gibbs free energy (ΔG) indicate that sorption is endothermic, entropy driven, and spontaneous in nature. The adsorption free energy (ΔGads) and effective free energy (ΔGeff) are also evaluated and discussed. The effect of different anions on the sorption of Th(IV) ions onto PAN loaded PUF was studied. The possible sorption mechanism on the basis of experimental finding was discussed. A new separation procedure of Th(IV) from synthetic rare earth mixture using batch, column chromatography, and squeezing techniques were reported.